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Carbonic Anhydrase
The alpha form of this enzyme, located mainly in red blood cells of animals, catalyzes the interconversion of carbon dioxide and carbonic acid. It is important for transportation and release of carbon dioxide in the blood. This enzyme's active site contains a zinc cofactor that is held in place by three histidine side chains (His94, His96, His119). The reaction has a two-step mechanism in which there is a zinc-bound hydroxide ion that nucleophilically attacks the carbon dioxide. Following the first step, is the regeneration of the active site by removing a proton and re-ionizing the zinc-bound water molecule. The enzyme also consists of alpha helices and beta sheets.

hydrophobic regions